Today, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will continue hearings of a case involving Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, an Indian national

Photo: Arian Zwegers

Today, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will continue hearings of a case involving Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, an Indian national currently imprisoned in Pakistan.

New Delhi claims that Islamabad violated the 1963 Vienna Convention by not allowing Jadhav diplomatic assistance during his trial. Pakistan will submit its counterarguments today.

The trial comes a week after a Pakistan-based Islamist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, killed 44 Indian soldiers in a suicide bombing. New Delhi has accused Islamabad of permitting such groups to operate within its borders and demanded that Pakistan, which has firmly denied any role in the attack, take action.

Should Islamabad not make overtures to New Delhi that include more active efforts to combat terrorism, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian PM Narendra Modi could downgrade diplomatic relations with Pakistan by revoking it’s “most-favoured nation status”, though the title is largely symbolic.

A stronger Indian military presence in the state—likely in the form of heightened counterterrorism raids and troop numbers—is also on the table. With general elections coming in May, Modi will look to score political points by responding harshly to the incident, a reality that is likely to raise tensions between the two foes.

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